Starting In late July and lasting about a month, Sewanee and partners will be launching the Tenneswim project, an end-to-end characterization of the Tennessee River: its general health, the presence of microplastics and heavy metals, the health of river fauna, and other measures. This scientific and public education project will be conducted through an amazing feat of physical endurance, with a German researcher and long-distance swimmer swimming the entire length of the river. Grants from the Lyndhurst and Riverview Foundations have led the way as donors continue to support this project.

Lisa, Brett, and Davis Couch, C'17, worked together to structure a family gift to the University of the South that will be one rung in the family's plan to provide opportunity for underprivileged children in Florida to gain a first-class education.

Joanne Boyd, C'77, wants to encourage Sewanee women to make a gift to the University, and she has led with her own giving to projects in honor of retiring professors, the equestrian center, and the Sewanee Fund. Now she has added to that record by making a planned gift through her estate, and she has also set up plans for a pet trustee, to ensure that important canine and equine friends are cared for. Read more about this inspiring story.

‌"I can do that," said Lindsey Hollin, C'00, when Sewanee called to ask her to support today's students. She became one of 15 donors in late 2016 to establish a Cornerstone Scholarship, a great way to have immediate impact and help ensure access to a great Sewanee education.

Carol, C'81, and Bill Titus are driven by their own life experiences to give back to Sewanee's civic engagement effort. Bill is drawn to the practicality of the OCE's work, seeking solutions with the partnership of the community and not impractical home run shots. Carol is drawn to the work from a lifetime of service to others, beginning when she was a child helping her grandfather take food to people in need. Their gifts, divided between a charitable gift annuity and an outright gift, are helping ensure the future of an ambitious program of civic engagement.

Reinforcing Academic Distinction

We seek to attract and retain celebrated teacher-scholars, building a faculty whose commitment to teaching is matched only by its passion for creating knowledge through research and scholarship completed in collaboration with students and teaching in programs that speak to the challenges of today and tomorrow.